Telescopically collapsible box



June 9, :1931. J. A. POWELL TELESCQPICALLY COLLAPSIBLE BOX Filed April18, 1929 INVENTOR.

v.7;4fl7f'5 Pan 4 4 BY /ZQ7 A TTORNEYS Patented June 9 1931 I "fumrsosrATEs- PATENT OFFICE] JAMES A. POWELL, or RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,Assrenonro THE A EnroAN To Aoc A COMPANY, OF NEW Y03K,1\T.' Y., ACORPORATION or ew annsn "TEL EsoOPIcALnY cOLLAr'sIBLn BOX Applicationfiled April 18,

This invention is animprovement in a telescopically collapsible box,andmore par- 7 ticularly in a boxer can designed for containing smokingtobacco forretailing.

In the usual construction of box of this character, the box is ofconsiderable depth,

' and the tobacco'is usually in a state of some compression. In order todischarge the contents, it is usual to dislodge and loosen a portionthereof with a finger. When the contents areapproximately halfexhausted, it"is' Very difficult to reach the remaining part of thetobacco to loosen and dislodge it.

v One of the primary objects of the present invention is the provisionof a box of the character in question, of a'nature such that as thecontents of the box are removed, the sectionsmay be collapsed to lessenthe length of the box, thereby to facilitate access to the l deformationof any part of the sections.

remainder of the contents.

Another object is the provision'of a box wherein the telescopic sectionsmay be quickly assembled merely by pushing them together, and whereinthe sections may be easily separated from each other, without Anotherobject is the provision of a ,box wherein the connections between thesections ,is such that they will-be held inexandengagement of the lock.

tended position, whatever the relation of the sections, by friction, andwill be releasably, locked in fully extended position.

Another object is the provision of'a connectionsuch that the naturalresiliency of the sectionsimay be utilized in the release Another objectis the provision of a box v "of-this character, so'construc'ted that itdiffersbut slightly in appearance from the usual "box, and wherein whenthe label is in place thereon the difference in appearance ispractically negligible.

Another object is to provide a construe tion such that the cost of thebox is not materially increased.

'AnOtherOb eOt 1s to provlde in such a con- 1 struction, a smooth andflat joint between the sections of the box, wherein the-'- joint offersa minimum of deformation.

With these and other objects in viewthe bead 6, against which 1929.Serial No. 356,060.

in the scope ofthe claims", may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of the invention; In the drawings forminga'part hereof Fig. 1is a perspective view of the improved box extended. f

Figs. 2 and 4: are sections on'the lines 22 and 4ls4of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 3 is a view similar to 2 with the box collapsed.

In the present embodiment ofthe inven- I tion the improved .box which isof sheet metal, or the like, is composed of an upper and lower section,telescopically connected, to slide one within the other. The boxis Thelower section 1 is provided with a Q bottom 2 forming a closure atoneend ofthe box, and the upper section 8 is provided with a cover 4whichis hinged to the sec usualflanged cover, fitting the end of thesection, which is provided with an" annular. 7 the flange of the coverabuts.

designed to fit the pocket, and is'joblong" in v A horizontalcrosssectionpas shown.

tionas indicatcdin 5, the cover being the; i

The lower end of the upper section fits 7 within the upper end' of thelower section,

[as shown, and mechanism is provided .in connection with the-sectionsfor releasably holding them fully extended, and for enabling collapse ofthe sections to any degree,

between the positions of Figures 2 and 3.

The interlocking mechanism is in the form of depressions in the walls ofthe sections'at their meeting ends. These depressions form bosses"? and8 on the outer faces of the sections, and the bosses of the-innersection are so arranged with relation' to those of the outer section,that the said bosses 7 will fit within the bosses '8, whereby to lockthe sectionsin extended position.

As indicated in Figs. 1 and 4, fourisets s rin in the side walls of theup oer sec- P z: e l

tion inwardly. The upper section is of a length such that it may betelescoped within the lower section, as shown in Fig. 3,"approximatelythe full depth thereof, this movement being limited by the annular bead6, before mentioned.

In the use of the improved box, the tobacco is first wrapped in apackage, and the wrapped package is inserted into the box. Both of theseoperations are done by machinery. The wrapped package may be inserted inthe box after the sections are as sembled, or it may be inserted in thelower section, and the upper section fitted into place. The sections areeasily assembled, it only being-necessary to push the lower end 1 of theupper section into the upper end of the lower section, until the bossesinterlock. The box is then stably held against accidental displacementof the sections. The to bacco. is usually removed by loosening the samewith the fingers, the tobacco being more or less compact in the package.This operation is continued, and eventually the tobacco is lowered, sothat it is difiicult or impossibleto reach it with the fingers.-

When this occurs, the upper section is pushed downward, as shown in Fig.3.

If approximately half of the contents have been removed, the sectionsmay be fully collapsed, but it will be apparent that they may,

be collapsed to any desired extent, to retain the level of the tobaccoin the box at approximately the top thereof. The provision of fthebosses insures easy assembling of the mg, and also facilitates thecollapse of the box sections either fully or partially.

If the sections should stick, the bosses may be released fromeach otherby springing of .the sides of the upper section. The bosses,

the sections being merely slidabl'y engaged, That-is, the lockingengagement between the sections is of a relatively negligible area,

' so'th'at binding between the sections is reduced to a minimum.

The bosses are stamped in the sections, and the bosses of the twosections are comple mental, that is, the bosses of-the inner secsectionsprior to packing, or during packtions fit within the depressions formedby 'the stamping of the bosses in the outer section. When the sectionsare collapsed partially or completely, the bosses of the inner section,which as will be seen from inspecsection, without any noticeabledeformation of either section wall. Thatis, the outer bosses areexternal, so that they do not engage the other section, except asconcerns the bosses of said other section.

By the terms depressions and bosses as herein employed, I do not wish tobe understood as limiting myself to the substantially sphericalprotuberances shown in the drawings as obviously stamped out portions ofother configurations which are complemental and which are arranged tointerlock, may be employed without departing from thespirit of theinvention.

It will be noticed referring to Fig. 1, that above a line connecting theupper edges of the bosses 8, the relative wide side walls of the lowersection are bent inwardly at a slight angle to the body portions of theside walls. This is to insure a tight fit between the side walls of thesections. portions at thetop of the lower section which are bent at avery slight angle, are indicated at 9 in Fig. 1. It will be noticed thatthe bosses 8 are near the side edges of the relatively wide side walls,and near the commencement of the curvature of theend walls, so thatthere is a considerable degree of stiflness at this point and asubstantial support.

The releasable lock; namely, the bosses, for holdin the sections infully extended position, is a feature of importance in boxes of thischaracter. As was previously stated, the packages areinserted into theboxes by machinery, being pushed into the relatively stationary box by aplunger. If the box sections were freely slidable relative to eachother, they would tend to collapse under the impetus of the plunger. Inplacing the label, considerable pressure is brought to bear against theends of the box, since it must be held firmly, during the pressingof thelabel to place. There is also a tendency at this time to collapse thesections, if some interlocking mechanism is not provided to hold themextended. The interlocking bosses provides such a means.

In order to serve as a guide ,in the extension of the box, to show-thatit is fully extended, a boss 10 is provided at approximately the centerof each of the long sides of the inner section, the said boss being sopositioned that when the sections are fully extended, it will, be justabove 'the upper edge of the lower section,- and'just free from saidedge. This boss also assists in presense of feeling by the sense ofsight, in determining the full extension of the sections.

What is claimed as new is' I V 1. A packet tobacco box having oppositelyarranged relatively wide substantially fiat sides composed of twotelescopic sections,

one provided with a bottom permanently seamed thereto, and the otherwith a cover, the sections having complemental stamped out bossesarranged to, interlock, with the bosses of the inner section fittingwithin the depressions formed by the stamping of the bosses on the outersection, when the sections are in extended position, and adapted to holdthe sections temporarily extended, or partially extended by frictionalengagement of the bosses of the inner section with the outer sectionwall, or to permit complete separation of the sections, the bosses beingin the fiat sides near the open ends of the sections.

2. A pocket telescopicsections, one provided with a bottobacco. boxcomposed of two the sections extended, said bosses being near themeetin' ends of the sections, and on the fiat sides 0 the sections nearthe beginning oi the curvature of the rounded sides, and

another boss on each flat side of the inner most section near the middleof each side wall near the end which meets the outer section, arrangedto engage outside the edge of thellower section at the said end when thesections are extended."

5. A pocket tobacco box composed of two telescoping sections havingplane relatively wide side walls, and relatively narrow end walls, thesections having complemental stamped out bosses arranged to interlockwhen the sections are fully extended, said bosses being-on the planesides near their junction with the relatively narrow sides for thepurpose set forth. I

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of NewYorkthis 2nd" I day of April A, D. 1929.

- v Q JAMES A. POWELL.

tom and the other with a cover, the opposite I side walls of thesections having comple mental'stamped out bosses arranged to interlockwith the bosses of one section fitting within the complemental bosses ofthe other section when the sections are infiextended position, andadapted to hold the sections temporarily extended, and to permitcomplete separation of the sections, said bosses being near the sideedges of the sidewalls and at the beginning of the curvature of the endwalls.

3. A pocket tobacco box composed of two telescopic sections, oneprovided with a bottom and the other with a cover, the opposite sidewalls of the sections having complemental stamped out bosses arranged tointerlock with the bosses of one section fitting within the companionbossesof the other section when the sections are fully extended, andsupplemental bosses on the said side walls ofthe inner sectionpositioned to j v be exposed when the sections are fully extended, andserving to supplement the ac- 4. A pocket tobacco box, composed oftelescoping sections, the opposite side walls of the sections havingcomplemental stamped out rounded bosses adapted to interlock with I thebosses of the inner section within the depressions formed by thestamping of the bosses on the outer section wherebyto hold

